xvi, 414 pages, 8 pages of unnumbered plates : 24 cm

In 1967, as the new sound of rock and roll was taking over popular music, John Byrne Cooke was at the center of it all. As a member of D.A. Pennebaker's film crew, he witnessed the astonishing breakout performances of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival that June. Less than six months later, he was on a plane to San Francisco, taking a job as road manager for Janis and her band, Big Brother and the Holding Company. From then on, Cooke was Joplin's road manager amid a rotating cast of musicians and personnel, a constant presence behind the scenes as the woman called Pearl took the world by storm. Cooke was there when Janis made the difficult decision to leave Big Brother and form a new band. He was with her when the Kozmic Blues Band toured Europe in the spring of 1969, when they performed at Woodstock in August, and when Janis and Full Tilt Boogie took their famous Festival Express train trip across Canada. He accompanied Janis to her friend and mentor Ken Threadgill's 70th birthday party, and was at her side when she attended her tenth high school reunion in Port Arthur, Texas. This intimate memoir spans the years he spent with Janis, from her legendary rise to her tragic last days. Cooke tells the whole incredible story as only someone who lived it could

Includes bibliographical references (pages 409-412)

If you're going to San Francisco -- California Dreamin' -- It happened in Monterey -- More pretty girls than one -- Sittin' on the dock of the bay -- Gonna lay down my old guitar -- Hit the road, Jack -- Hooray for Hollywood -- New York, New York -- What a wonderful town -- Swing low, sweet chariot -- Cheap thrills -- Downtown nowhere -- Memphis, Tennessee -- On the road again -- The grand tour -- Back in the U.S.A. -- Half a million strong -- Little girl blue -- Brazilian interlude: Manha de Carnival -- The great tequila boogie -- Full tilt boogie -- Riding that train -- T for Texas -- That old gang of mine -- A woman left lonely -- Cry, baby -- Memories

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